Harry Brook rises five positions to 13th on back of scores of 32 and 46 in first Test; James Anderson retains his place as second best bowler in world, despite taking only one wicket at Edgbaston; watch the second Ashes Test, live on Sky Sports from June 28
Wednesday 21 June 2023 12:53, UK
England's Joe Root has leapfrogged Ashes rivals Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head back to the top the Test batting rankings.
The Yorkshireman's performance in scoring a combined 164 runs - 118 not out in the first innings and 46 in the second - at Edgbaston in the first Ashes Test defeat to Australia propelled him five places up the ICC's rankings.
Labuschagne, who had previously occupied top spot, falls two places to third after making just 13 in the series opener, including a first-ball duck in the first innings.
Smith, who scored a combined 22 runs, is down four spots from second to sixth and Head drops one pace to fourth after managing a first-innings half-century in Birmingham.
Player of the match from the first Test, Usman Khawaja, is the fourth Australian in the top 10 and moved up two spots to seventh after scores of 141 and 65 in the tourists' thrilling two-wicket win.
England's next-best performer is Harry Brook, who rose five positions to 13th on the back of scores of 32 and 46.
James Anderson retained his place as the second best bowler in the world, despite taking only one wicket across the two innings at Edgbaston, while Ollie Robinson moved into the top five with five wickets in the first Test.
Meanwhile, England and Australia have both been fined 40 per cent of their match fees and deducted two World Test Championship points for slow over-rates in the first Test.
Captains Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanctions, so there was no need for formal hearings, the ICC said.
As the match was the first in the new WTC cycle, that means England sit on minus two points in the table. Australia picked up 12 points for their Cummins-inspired win, so drop back to 10.
All 22 players have also lost 40 per cent of their match fees, which equates to around £6,000 for the English contingent.
The men's Ashes resumes at Lord's on Wednesday June 28 with the second of five Tests. Build-up begins on Sky Sports Cricket at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am.
